Exoplanets orbiting M-dwarfs present a valuable opportunity for their detection and atmospheric characterization. This is evident from recent inferences of H2O in such atmospheres, including that of the habitable-zone exoplanet K2-18b. With a bulk density between Earth and Neptune, K2-18b may be expected to possess a H/He envelope. However, the extent of such an envelope and the thermodynamic conditions of the interior remain unexplored. In the present work, we investigate the atmospheric and interior properties of K2-18b based on its bulk properties and its atmospheric transmission spectrum. We constrain the atmosphere to be H2-rich with a H2O volume mixing ratio of 0.02%–14.8%, consistent with previous studies, and find a depletion of CH4 and NH3, indicating chemical disequilibrium. We do not conclusively detect clouds/hazes in the observable atmosphere. We use the bulk parameters and retrieved atmospheric properties to constrain the internal structure and thermodynamic conditions in the planet. The constraints on the interior allow multiple scenarios between rocky worlds with massive H/He envelopes and water worlds with thin envelopes. We constrain the mass fraction of the H/He envelope to be ≲6%; spanning ≲10−5 for a predominantly water world to ∼6% for a pure iron interior. The thermodynamic conditions at the surface of the H2O layer range from the supercritical to liquid phases, with a range of solutions allowing for habitable conditions on K2-18b. Our results demonstrate that the potential for habitable conditions is not necessarily restricted to Earth-like rocky exoplanets.


The fraction of hypertensive patients with essential hypertension (EH) is decreasing as the knowledge of mechanisms of secondary hypertension increases, but in most new cases of hypertension the pathophysiology remains unknown. Separate neurocentric and renocentric concepts of aetiology have prevailed without much interaction. In this regard, several questions regarding the relationships between body fluid and blood pressure regulation are pertinent. Are all forms of EH associated with sympathetic overdrive or a shift in the pressure–natriuresis curve? Is body fluid homoeostasis normally driven by the influence of arterial blood pressure directly on the kidney? Does plasma renin activity, driven by renal nerve activity and renal arterial pressure, provide a key to stratification of EH? Our review indicates that (i) a narrow definition of EH is useful; (ii) in EH, indices of cardiovascular sympathetic activity are elevated in about 50% of cases; (iii) in EH as in normal conditions, mediators other than arterial blood pressure are the major determinants of renal sodium excretion; (iv) chronic hypertension is always associated with a shift in the pressure–natriuresis curve, but this may be an epiphenomenon; (v) plasma renin levels are useful in the analysis of EH only after metabolic standardization and then determination of the renin function line (plasma renin as a function of sodium intake); and (vi) angiotensin II‐mediated hypertension is not a model of EH. Recent studies of baroreceptors and renal nerves as well as sodium intake and renin secretion help bridge the gap between the neurocentric and renocentric concepts.


How does the uncertain provision of external nance a ect investment projects' default probability and liquidity risk? In this paper I study the strategic interaction between many creditors and a single borrower in the context of a two-period investment project requiring external credit. Loans mature in one period but the project requires two periods to complete. The key working assumptions are that creditors are risk-averse and that any uncertainty is common knowledge: information about the fundamentals can be incomplete but not asymmetric. Mixed and perfect Bayesian strategies are used to compute the equilibrium probabilities of default and early liquidation. The impact of the maturity structure on default and liquidity risk is a function of the underlying structural and stochastic parameters and investors' beliefs about the state of fundamentals. The implications for banking regulation are assessed under xed and variable loan rates. An open range of fundamentals is derived outside of which default and liquidity risk are either zero or one. The cyclical properties of default and liquidity risk are shown to depend sensitively on the relative cost of early liquidation to the borrower and the creditors, hence also on the regulatory policy stance. JEL Classi cation: C72, F32, F34


Novel PMMA-based bone cement using bioactive sol-gel derived CaO-SiO2 powder in order to induce bioactivity as well as to increase its mechanical property. The novel PMMA-based bone cements formed apatite on their surfaces in Simulated Body Fluid(SBF). In the present study, a change in mechanical property of the cement was evaluated using SBF. Before soaking in SBF, its compressive strength showed 80.6±2.1MPa. After soaking in SBF for 2 weeks, 8weeks and 9 weeks, its compressive strength were changed to 83.6±1.6MPa, 87.3±2.4MPa and 85.6±1.8MPa, respectively. It is clear that from the above result, there is no decrease in its compressive strength within 9 weeks soaking in SBF. That it hardly decreases in compressive strength of 7P3S bone cement in SBF is due to the relative small amount of gel powder or its spherical shape and monosize. Therefore, the newly developed PMMA-based cement can bond to the living bone and also be effectively used as bioactive bone cement without decrease in mechanical property.


Oral fingolimod has been recently accepted as a treatment for relapsing Multiple Sclerosis (MS) by the Indonesian Food and Drug Administration. The number of MS patients is increasing in Indonesia. There is a critical need of systematically reviewing the new medication for both efficacy and safety. This review aimed to appraise the clinical evidences of oral fingolimod for the effective treatment of relapsing MS. We searched in Pubmed database. We limited our search to only articles that were in full text, published within the last 10 years, and in English. We used the Jadad scale to measure the quality of the evidences. We only found 3 trials, all conducted with randomized and double blind design. The three trials were: the FREEDOMS I, FREEDOMS II, and TRANSFORMS studies. The FREEDOMS studies compared with placebo, and the TRANSFORMS study compared with injectable interferon. All of the studies have good quality in methodology (Jadad scale >3). The results of the three studies showed the benefit of oral fingolimod in reducing MS relapse compared with placebo with relative risk reduction range from 48% to 54%, and also in reducing new lesions in T2 brain MRI with relative risk reduction range from 35% to 74%. Our critical appraisal found that oral fingolimod improved clinical outcomes. The availability of oral fingolimod in Indonesia makes it one of the options in treatment of MS relapse in Indonesia and has been demonstrated to be effective and safe with relatively small risk.


Objective: As a type of arrhythmia, Atrial Fibrillation (AF) seriously affects human health. Although Radiofrequency Catheter Ablation (RFCA) has been proved to be a safe and effective method for the treatment of AF, thromboembolism caused by this treatment limited its application. Our study aimed to investigate the effects of calcium channel blocker amlodipine on thrombosis-related factors after RFCA.
Methods: A total of 68 patients with AF underwent RFCA were selected from Jining No.1 People's Hospital from September 2015 to December 2016. Patients were randomly divided into groups A and B. Patients in group A received RFCA only, while patients in group B were treated with amlodipine for 3 consecutive days before RFCA. Elbow venous blood was extracted from each patient before intravenous catheterization, after electrophysiological examination and before RFCA, just after RFCA, 24 h after RFCA and 48 h after RFCA. Levels of CD62P, Thromboxane B2 (TXb2), Interleukin 6 (IL6), D-Dimer and protein C in plasma were detected by Enzyme-Linked Immunosorbent Assay (ELISA).
Results: Compared with preoperative levels, levels of CD62P, TXb2, IL6, D-Dimer and protein C in plasma of group A were significantly increased after RFCA (p<0.05), and then decreased. But no significantly differences were found between preoperative levels and levels at 48 h after operation. No significant differences in levels of CD62P, TXb2, IL6, D-Dimer and protein C in plasma were found between different time points in group B.
Conclusion: RFCA in the treatment of atrial fibrillation can increase the risk of thrombosis, while preoperative treatment with amlodipine can reduce the risk.


Background Foot compartment syndrome (FCS) has been reported to cause neuropathic pain, claw or hammer toes, and motor and sensory disturbances. The optimal treatment of FCS is controversial. The purpose of this study was to determine if foot fasciotomies improve patient outcomes in high-energy, combat-related lower extremity trauma. Methods Medical records of patients with documented FCS from May 2007 to January 2009 were retrospectively reviewed. Consecutive, matched control patients were identified based on similar hindfoot, mid-foot and/or forefoot injuries who did not undergo foot fasciotomy during the same period. The primary outcomes analysed were the development of claw or hammer toes and neuropathic pain. Results 19 patients with foot fasctiotomies were identified and matched with 19 controls. Median follow-up was 19.5 months (range, 3.5–47.5 months) for the combined cohorts. The most common mechanism of injury was an explosive blast. Nine fasciotomy and nine control patients sustained open foot fractures. Significantly more patients with foot fasciotomies developed claw toes (50% vs 17%, p=0.03). There were no significant differences in the development of neuropathic pain, sensory deficits, motor deficits, chronic pain, stiffness or infection. The fasciotomy patients underwent an average of 5.5 surgeries per patient versus 4 surgeries per patient in the control group. Conclusions Fasciotomy of the foot did not prevent neuropathic pain and deformities in patients with FCS in this study.


A very high parking occupancy can negatively influence the traffic performance of an area by causing very long cruising times. A very low parking occupancy, on the other hand, is inefficient from a space utilization perspective. Thus, this paper proposes a framework to compute the optimal parking occupancy rate over a given time horizon based on a macroscopic traffic and parking model. This rate is set high enough to ensure an efficient usage of the parking infrastructure. However, it should also guarantee a high likelihood of finding parking in order to eliminate the drivers' time wasted in cruising for parking and the added congestion it causes. The model outputs are based on small data collection efforts and low computational costs, and they can be generated without complex simulation software using a simple numerical solver. Multiple vehicle types are included into our methodology allowing us to generate insights about the optimal parking occupancy with or without differentiated parking (i.e., parking for specific vehicles, such as fuel and electric vehicles). In times of a modal shift towards electric vehicles, cities can use our model to evaluate how much parking supply (with battery charging opportunities) they would like to dedicate to electric vehicles in order to achieve optimal traffic and parking results, and whether a differentiated or semi-differentiated parking policy is desirable. We illustrate our framework in a case study of a central area within the city of Zurich, Switzerland, showing the traffic and parking impacts (e.g., average searching time for parking, total revenue created by parking fees, optimal parking occupancy rate) for different proportions of fuel and electric vehicles in the parking demand and/or supply. Our results confirm that optimal occupancy rates are between and for most realistic scenarios. We then discuss how these rates might change depending on various demand and supply relationships, and according to different parking policies. We show that equal proportions between electric vehicles in the demand and their parking spaces in the supply lead to the best traffic performance in the area. We also provide the tools for cities to analyze their loss in performance if they do not react, e.g., to an increasing demand for electric vehicles over time. Moreover, we illustrate how some of these risks can be mitigated by having more flexible parking policies, e.g., allowing electric vehicles to use parking spaces for fuel vehicles.


This paper tests the Rational Expectations (RE) hypothesis regarding retirement expectations of married older American couples, controlling for sample selection and reporting biases. In prior research we found that individual retirement expectation formation was consistent with the Rational Expectation hypothesis, but in that work spousal considerations were not analyzed. In this research we take advantage of panel data on expectations to test the RE hypothesis among married individuals as well as joint expectations among couples. We find that regardless of whether we assume that married individuals form their own expectations taking spouse's information as exogenous, or the reports of the couple are the result of a joint expectation formation process, their expectations are consistent with the RE hypothesis. Our results support a wide variety of models in economics that assume rational behavior for married couples.


We developed a low-noise and compact SQUID gradiometer for biomagnetic multichannel applications. The SQUID is based on a double relaxation oscillation SQUID and provides very large flux-to-voltage transfer coefficients, allowing simple flux-locked loop electronics to be used for SQUID operation. The pickup coil is a first-order planar gradiometer integrated on the same wafer as the SQUID and has a baseline of 40 mm. The field gradient noise of the SQUID gradiometer in flux-locked loop mode is around 1 fT/cm/spl radic/Hz at 100 Hz, measured inside a magnetically shielded room.


This paper focuses on the role of the council of a municipality towards ensuring accountable governance. First, it discusses the Code of Conduct for councillors, which is the key instrument at the hands of the municipal council to ensure accountability of the council and councillors. Second, it analyses the way in which the Code of Conduct can be enforced. Third, it presents a case study of an instance in which these instruments to enforce ethical conduct were invoked. Fourth, it provides an analysis of a key area where improvements can be made and proposes a way forward to making
those improvements.


Table 2 (p. 1127) of the report "Rules for alpha-helix termination by glycine" by R. Aurora et al. (20 May, p. 1126) was incorrectly printed. The corrected table appears below. In the same report, the second sentence of reference 36 should not have appeared. [See table in the PDF file].


Rainfall estimates are important components of water resources applications, especially in agriculture, transport constructing irrigation and drainage systems. This paper aims to stochastically model and forecast the rainfall trend and pattern for a city, each purposively selected in five states of the South-Western Region of Nigeria. The data collected from Nigerian Meteorological Agency (NIMET) website are captured with fractional autoregressive integrated moving average (ARFIMA) and seasonal autoregressive integrated moving average (SARIMA) models. The autocorrelation function (ACF) and partial autocorrelation function (PACF) are used for model identification, the models selected are subjected to diagnostic checks for the models adequacy. Several tests: Augmented Dickey Fuller (ADF), Ljung Box and Jarque Bera tests are used for investigating unit root, serial autocorrelation and normality of residuals, respectively; the mean square error, root mean square error and mean absolute error are employed in validating the optimal stochastic model for each city in all states, in which the model with the lowest error of forecasting of all competing models is suggested as the best. The analyses and findings suggest SARIMA(1,0,1)(1,1,0) [12], SARIMA(3,0,2)(1,0,0) [12], SARIMA(1,0,0)(1,1,0) [12], SARIMA(2,0,2)(2,1,0) [12] and SARIMA(0,0,1)(1,1,0) [12] for (Ibadan) Oyo State, (Ikorodu) Lagos State, (Osogbo) Osun State, (Abeokuta) Ogun State and (Akure) Ondo state, respectively. The seasonal ARIMA (SARIMA) model was proven to be the best optimal stochastic forecast model for forecasting rainfall in the selected cities. The SARIMA model was, therefore, recommended as a veritable technique that will assist decision makers (Government, Farmers, and Policymakers) to establish better strategies "aprior" on the management of rainfall against upcoming weather changes to ensure increase in agricultural yields for the betterment of the citizenry and general economic growth.


In 1871 Oliver Wendell Homes, a prominent American physician, told his medical students, "Your patient has no more right to the truth that you know than he has to all the medicine in your saddlebags. He should get only just as much as is good for him." This information control is the foundation of medical power, but in the post-Bristol era we've decided British patients should be told "the whole truth" about their care. Do you really want to know, though? Or do you still prefer the cosy placebo of blind faith?

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You can't find out how many times your pilot has crashed, but soon you'll know if your heart surgeon is any good. That's the theory, but our politicised NHS has always swapped accuracy for expediency. Denied the resources to produce reliable figures, heart surgeons have been bounced into releasing rough data simplified into a ludicrous "Michelin guide" star system. Just as you suspect the lone star McDonald's waiter of peeing in the milkshakes, you may not trust your bottom-rung heart surgeon.

I feel …

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Recent studies have shown that endophytic yeasts benefit their host, which has stim - ulated their use in different applications in agribusiness. The research has focused on evaluating the effectiveness of handling these yeasts to solve problems such as biocontrol of pathogens, plant growth and/or improvements in the quality of fruits and vegetables. However, in order to obtain information that contributes to the selection and the imple - mentation of a yeast able to interact with a broader spectrum of hosts and to help solve postharvest problems, it is necessary to deepen the knowledge on the association of these symbionts and to establish possible changes in the host, the issues that are covered in this chapter. The results show that the endophytic yeasts can generate structural changes in the host as a starting point for further applied research and to propose other mechanisms of action.


The Look AHEAD trial compared an intensive lifestyle intervention (ILI) for weight loss with diabetes support and education in adults with T2DM and BMI ≥ 25 kg/m2. During 10 years of follow-up, ILI had no significant effect on mortality or incidence of CVD. Here we present a secondary analysis of urine albumin/creatinine ratio (ACR) and estimated glomerular filtration rate (eGFR) as predictors of all-cause mortality (361 deaths among 4865 participants) using time varying covariates proportional hazards models adjusted for age, sex, race/ethnicity, and ILI. Both ACR and eGFR predicted mortality (Figure 1a/b, respectively). In a joint analysis of ACR and eGFR, mortality was highest among groups with low eGFR and high ACR. Interestingly, high eGFR was also associated with higher mortality (Figure 1c). Effects of eGFR on mortality were nonlinear, but in each eGFR group, ACR was positively associated with mortality. In each analysis, ILI was beneficial, but not significantly so. There were no significant interactions between ACR or eGFR and insulin treatment, history of CVD, beta-blocker treatment, or age at baseline on mortality. In conclusion, ACR and eGFR predicted mortality in time varying models. Results were similar for CVD mortality (106 deaths) and for the primary trial outcome of fatal or nonfatal CVD (796 events). Disclosure A.C. Wills: None. W.C. Knowler: None.


Portulaca oleracea is globally used both as a vegetable and as an herb for medical and therapeutic purposes; hence the need to investigate its phytonutrients. The aim of this study was to evaluate the effects of different drying methods (hot-air drying, microwave drying and freeze-drying) on the color, phytochemicals content and antioxidant capacity of purslane leaves. The fresh purslane leaves had high contents of total phenolics (1447.59 mg GAE/ 100 g) and flavonoids (5011.87 mg QE/ 100 g) on dry weight basis. They exhibited high antioxidant capacity (53.23% and 147.78 μmol trolox/ 100 g) measured by DPPH and ABTS assay, respectively. Chromatic coordinates (L*, a* and b*) as well as total color difference (ΔE) were affected by drying methods. Drying methods caused a significant decrease in total phenolics, total flavonoids and antioxidant capacity of purslane leaves. Drying by hot-air at 50oC and freezedrying had the lowest adverse effects on antioxidant capacities of purslane leaves while microwave drying cannot be a competitive process for preserving antioxidants and antioxidant capacity of purslane leaves. The changes in the antioxidant capacity due to the drying methods were positively correlated with the content of phenolics (R2= 0.9043- 0.9885). Therefore, it can be suggested that special care should be taken when processing method is selected for the exploration of purslane leaves.


AIM: Tall and structurally complex forests can provide ample habitat and niche space for climbing plants, supporting high liana species richness. We test to what extent canopy height (as a proxy of 3‐D habitat structure), climate and soil interact to determine species richness in the largest clade of Neotropical lianas. We expect that the effect of canopy height on species richness is higher for lianas from closed tropical rain forests compared to riparian and savanna habitats. LOCATION: Neotropics. TIME PERIOD: Present. MAJOR TAXA STUDIED: Tribe Bignonieae (Bignoniaceae). METHODS: We used structural equation models to evaluate direct and indirect effects of canopy height, climate (temperature, precipitation and precipitation seasonality), and soil (cation exchange capacity and soil types) on overall Bignonieae species richness (339 liana species), as well as on species richness of lianas from forest, riparian and savanna habitats, respectively. We further performed multiple regression models with Moran's eigenvector maps to account for spatial autocorrelation. RESULTS: Canopy height was a key driver of liana species richness, in addition to climate and soil. Species richness of forest lianas showed a strong positive relationship with canopy height whereas the relationship was less pronounced for riparian species. Richness of savanna species decreased with increasing canopy height. Climate also explained a substantial proportion of variation in liana species richness whereas soil variables showed little explanatory power. MAIN CONCLUSIONS: The relationship between canopy height and liana species richness differs among habitats. While forest and riparian lianas benefit from tall and complex habitats that provide physical support to reach the canopy to escape low light availability in the understorey, high light availability in open habitats and an increased risk of embolism of conductive vessels for lianas with long stems living in areas with high seasonality might explain the inverse relationship between species richness and canopy height in savannas.


The questions of why firms pay dividends, why investors like dividends, and why investment advisors recommend buying stock that pays dividends regularly are some of the most intriguing problems in financial economics. The author traces the academic path that leads to the poor current understanding of the problem. He argues that the love of dividends is something that investors have been conditioned to feel for centuries, and that only education will change their attitudes. This does not mean that academia will not still try to find economically rational solutions to the dividend puzzle for many years to come.


An algorithm, based on Monte Carlo techniques, is presented for the design and analysis of a crystal controlled oscillator. A digital computer simulates the oscillator as its circuit components change in accordance with their probability distributions. Selection of the final oscillator design is based on the probability of circuit failure as calculated by the computer. This method should yield improved frequency stability and reduced cost compared with results obtained from conventional design methods.


Objectification Theory and Its Relation to Disordered Eating: The Role of Feminist Attitudes and Internalization of Cultural Standards of Beauty. (August 2009) Analesa N. Clarke, B.A., Pennsylvania State University; M.S., Texas A&M University Chair of Advisory Committee: Dr. Marisol Perez The current study had three main objectives: to examine the relation between trait and state self-objectification and various eating pathology, including restricted eating; to examine the role of general and specific feminist attitudes on body dissatisfaction and trait disordered eating; and to merge two empirically supported models of eating disorders. Using a quasi-experimental research design with an elaborate cover story, one hundred and three women completed a variety of baseline measures and were assigned to one of two state self-objectifying conditions (swimsuit vs. sweater) where body image and body shame were measured at post. Additionally, following the manipulation, participants caloric intake during a snack break was measured. Results indicated that trait self objectification was associated with disordered eating symptomatology and analyses found an effect of condition on body shame, and that this effect was moderated by trait self-objectification. These results were not documented for caloric intake and body dissatisfaction, likely due to time of assessment of these variables. Also, results indicate that objectification theory and the dual pathways model merge well and that in the dual pathway, body shame may be a component of body


The oxygen plasma surface treatment of silicon and glass was studied for improving the characteristics of anodic bonding. By contact-angle measurements, we calculated the surface energy which is the sum of polar and dispersion components. The results showed that oxygen-plasma-induced distinctive high-polar and low-dispersion characteristics and caused the total surface energy to increase even at low power or short plasma exposure times for both silicon and glass surfaces. The highly polar-component-induced surface was maintained for over 100 days. On increasing plasma power and exposure time, it was observed that surface roughness increased. The oxygen plasma treatment was significantly efficient to reduce the contaminants on the surface, which was the main factor in degrading bonding strength and electrical properties of the interface. In the tensile test, the oxygen plasma treatment led to higher bonding strength than a conventional anodic bonding method. © 2001 The Electrochemical Society. All rights reserved.


Before licensing agencies can take action to lessen the threat to public safety presented by age-related deficiencies, the nature and extent of those deficiencies must be assessed. Only then is it possible to take measures that will achieve the best possible balance between the safety of the public and the mobility of the elderly driver. Screening processes include driving performance, functional capabilities, medical evaluation, vision screening, and use of traffic records. This paper examines driving performance, describing the problem giving rise to the process, the needs that the process must satisfy, and the actions that must be taken to meet those needs.


In this paper, we present Sam, an embodied conversational storyteller who tells stories interactively with children. Sam was designed to appear as a peer to preschool children, but to tell stories in a developmentally advanced way in order to model narrative skills important for literacy. Literacy learning - learning how to read and write, begins long before children enter school. One of the key skills to reading and writing is the ability to represent thoughts symbolically and share them in language with an audience who does not share the same background. Children learn and practice such important language skills in the informal setting of everyday storytelling with their peers and adults available around them. In particular, storytelling in a context of peer collaboration provides a perfect place where children not only learn language skills important for literacy, but also learn to be critical listeners of others' stories. Preliminary evaluation showed that by interacting with Sam, 5-year-old children's stories more closely resembled Sam's linguistically advanced stories with more quoted speech and temporal and spatial expressions. In addition, the children listened to Sam's stories carefully, assisting her and giving suggestions on how to improve them. With Sam, children not only learned new linguistic behaviors that are important for literacy, but also to become critical listeners of other's stories.


Endometriosis is a complicated chronic disease that is characterized by the presence of ectopic lesions commonly located in the ovaries, peritoneum, and rectovaginal septum. It can cause irregular bleeding, pain, and infertility in the millions of affected women globally. While it is associated with abnormal mechanisms of retrograde menstruation, inflammation, and oxidative stress, but its etio-pathogenesis is not clearly characterized. Previous and recent literature supports the presence of altered levels of immunological signaling molecules growth factors, oxidants, and antioxidants in patients with endometriosis. This article reviews such literature regarding these biomarkers in four biological windows: serum, peritoneal fluid, follicular fluid, and relevant endometrial tissue samples. The investigation of changes in the proteome expression and oxidative stress markers in endometriosis has been shown to reflect the presence and severity of the condition, suggesting these molecules may possess the relevance and capability to function as early diagnostic markers. Current standard of laparoscopic diagnosis can delay detection by approximately nine years; therefore, establishing a non-invasive, inexpensive diagnostic methodology could simplify detection, reduce the use of invasive procedures, improve management, and address worldwide public health concerns. Characterization of multiple highly specific and sensitive biomarkers is necessary to create a reliable testing panel for early detection of endometriosis. The focus of the review is to summarize the relevant biomarkers as potential diagnostic tools for endometriosis and understand the roles of immunological and chemical modulators in this pathology. Our review also suggests that future research direction regarding diagnostic potential of biomarkers should further showcase reproducible results to establish the credibility of associated molecules.


The effect of lanthanum (La) on the catalytic behavior of nickel and cobalt catalysts derived from hydrotalcites in total combustion of methane was investigated. 12 wt. % Co (12Co), 12 wt. % Ni (12Ni) and 3.6 wt. %–8.4 wt. % Co (3.6Ni-8.4Co) were prepared by co-precipitation method followed by calcination and promoted further by 0.5–2 wt. % lanthanum using incipient wetness impregnation method. The final hydrotalcite-derived catalysts were characterized by x-ray diffraction (XRD), x-ray fluorescence (XRF), inductively coupled plasma-mass spectrometer (ICP-MS), temperature-programmed reduction (TPR), N2 adsorption and hydrogen chemisorption techniques. The XRD profiles confirmed the hydrotalcite structure of dried samples. The nitrogen adsorption demonstrated high surface area, 136–172 m2/g and small pore diameter of 10.4–13.2 nm. Hydrogen chemisorption presented slightly varied dispersion and metallic surface area. The addition of La promoter to the catalysts showed slightly decreased dispersion, as well as BET surface area, except from 3.6Ni-8.4Co catalyst which its BET surface area was observed to increase with 0.6–5 %. On the other hand, the La promoter increased the interaction between the cobalt oxides and the hydrotalcite (HT) support, while for the nickel oxides, the opposite was observed. The methane combustion over the nonpromoted and promoted catalysts was performed in a fixed-bed quartz reactor followed by gas chromatography (GC), mass spectrometery (MS) and ultraviolet-visible spectrometry (UV-Vis). The UV-Vis measurements were performed to study the oxidation states of the hydrotalcite-derived catalysts. This technique enabled to observe that oxidation state increased with temperature, where the oxidation state fraction was observed to decrease by La promotion in 12Ni catalyst. The catalysts were mainly analyzed for methane conversion. Methane conversion showed to increase with the cobalt-contained catalysts and the temperature, where 3.6Ni8.4Co catalyst was found to exhibit the highest activity on methane combustion among the catalysts. However, all the catalysts displayed decreasing methane conversion over time due to deactivation assigned to carbon formation on catalysts, as the TGA results showed. No significant changes were observed in the methane conversion with the addition of lanthanum, except from 12Ni-2La which showed lower methane conversion. Indeed, La promoter had two main effects on the catalysts. It blocked/covered parts of the nickel/cobalt active sites, at the same time it increased the remaining active sites. It also decreased the oxidation state fraction of the catalysts.


The performance of meteor burst communication using adaptive data-rate modulation is analysed. The transmitted data-rate is a function of the channel state, and is varied in a such way that the probability of bit error is kept constant. Unlike other performance analyses, the message consists of data-packets, thus allowing more realistic ARQ protocols to be analysed. The performance of the system is given in terms of average throughput, probability of successful message completion in a given time span and average waiting time for different message lengths, with or without coding.


The infectious yeast Candida albicans is capable of growing in either a budding or mycelium form, depending upon the pH of the supporting medium. By monitoring the position of polylysine-coated beads firmly attached to the wall of growing cells, the zones of expansion for the surface of the cell wall have been mapped for the alternative growth forms. Both spatial and temporal differences are demonstrated to exist. During roughly the first two-thirds of bud growth, a very small, highly active apical zone accounts for roughly 70% of surface expansion. The remaining 30% is due to general expansion. When a bud reaches approximately two-thirds of its final surface area, the apical zone shuts down, and subsequent expansion is completed by the general mechanism. During mycelial growth, at least 90% of expansion is due to a small, highly active apical growth zone, and less than 10% is due to the general mechanism. In contrast to budding cells, the apical zone of the growing mycelium never shuts down as long as growth continues in the mycelial form. These distinct temporal and spatial differences in expansion are considered in terms of the regulation of alternative phenotypes in Candida.


We show that the 1996 outburst of the X-ray binary transient system GRO J1655-40 can be explained by the standard dwarf-nova type disc instability, followed by an episode of enhanced mass transfer from the secondary if the mass transfer rate in GRO J1655-40 is within a factor < 10 of the stability limit. We argue that irradiation of the secondary during the onset of the outburst driven by the thermal instability in the outer disc can increase the mass transfer rate above the minimum value required for stable accretion. This will then produce the period of near-constant X-ray emission seen in this system. This scenario can also explain the observed anti-correlation between the optical and X-ray fluxes. It is generally accepted that optical emission in low-mass X-ray binaries is produced by irradiation of the outer disc by X-rays. There is also strong circumstantial evidence that in order for the outer disc to see the irradiating flux, it must be warped. Depending on the warp propagation mechanism, either a burst of mass from the secondary or viscous decay are likely to decrease the degree of warping, thereby causing the decrease in the observed optical flux while the X-ray flux remains constant or even increases, exactly as observed in GRO J1655-40. Finally, the decrease of the disc warping and, therefore, irradiation will cause the disc to become unstable once again, terminating the outburst.


Map showing various sites and features (land cover, recreation sites, landfills, transportation, etc.) in the Bay Minette region of the Alabama coastline. Scale 1:100,000.


Purpose Recent advances in radiation therapy have provided the possibility of combining different modalities in different parts of the treatment. The purpose of this study was the determination of the parameters D 50 and γ for the prostate adenocarcinoma using different radiobiological models, when proton and photon beams are combined. Material and Methods In this study 100 patients, who were treated for prostate cancer at the Academic Hospital in Uppsala, Sweden from 2002 to 2006, were used. The patients were treated with a conventional photon beam configuration to a dose of 50 Gy in 2 Gy fractions. Additionally, a proton boost of 20 Gy in 5 Gy fractions was applied. The photon and protondoses were corrected for the fractionation effects using the BED (biologically effective dose) concept. In the calculation of the protondose, we considered RBE=1.1. For each patient, the clinical treatment outcome (follow‐up of 24 months) and the 3D dose distribution delivered to the target were available. The best estimates of the parameters D 50 and γ of the Binomial, Poisson and Probit models were determined by applying a maximum likelihood fitting. Results Of the 100 patients, 94 had tumor control (94.0%) whereas 6 patients had treatment failure (6.0%). The mean doses in the prostate in these two groups of patients were 72.97Gy and 62.60Gy, respectively. The estimated values of the parameters for the Poisson and Binomial models are D 50=49.6Gy (68%CI=47.1–51.9Gy) and γ=2.25 (68%CI=1.83–2.75), whereas for the Probit model they are D 50=47.3Gy (68%CI=45.1–49.4Gy) and γ=1.31 (68%CI=1.11–1.52). Conclusions The estimated parameters are able to describe the dose‐response relation of prostate adenocarcinoma. Since there are very limited data on radiation therapy using combinations of photon and proton beams, the determined parameters can be useful in estimating the expected clinical outcome during treatment planning and perform optimization of the delivered treatment.


In the last two decades rodents have been on the rise as a dominant model for visual neuroscience. This is particularly true for earlier levels of information processing, but a number of studies have suggested that also higher levels of processing such as invariant object recognition occur in rodents. Here we provide a quantitative and comprehensive assessment of this claim by comparing a wide range of rodent behavioral and neural data with convolutional deep neural networks. These networks have been shown to capture hallmark properties of information processing in primates through a succession of convolutional and fully connected layers. We find that performance on rodent object vision tasks can be captured using low to mid-level convolutional layers only, without any convincing evidence for the need of higher layers known to simulate complex object recognition in primates. Our approach also reveals surprising insights on assumptions made before, for example, that the best performing animals would be the ones using the most abstract representations–which we show to likely be incorrect. Our findings suggest a road ahead for further studies aiming at quantifying and establishing the richness of representations underlying information processing in animal models at large.


This study examines the extent to which the level of transparency influences public procurement practices in the Nigerian Civil Service. A survey research design is adopted. The staff members of the public procurement department/unit of the different federal government ministries in Abuja made up the population of this study. The sample size consists of 352 staff members selected from different ministries where questionnaires were administered as a research instrument for data collection. Only 318 copies of the questionnaire were usable for data analyses. The simple regression result shows that public procurement practices are significantly and positively related to the level of transparency. Based on the findings, the study recommends that impartiality and fairness should be enshrined in the public procurement system in Nigeria so as to maximize the use of available resources.

 Key words: Public procurement, transparency, simple regression approach.


Background: Technology is constantly evolving with respect to production agriculture. Precision farming technologies have been increasingly recognized for their potential ability for improving agricultural productivity, reducing production cost, and minimizing damage to the environment. Methods: The combined use of different sensors and the following analysis of the recorded data allowed to define an efficient technique for crop monitoring. Results: We obtained the volume reconstruction of several plants and the NDVI mapping by exploiting the proposed technique. Conclusion: Crop monitoring and yield forecasting play a major role in the agricultural context. Future work will be devoted to develop and use a customized index structure to increase the efficiency and to integrate in our knowledge base some geo referential data.


Physicists have employed various approaches to solve the "paradox" and offered a consistent conclusion that the traveller twin is younger than the homebody twin. However, some authors attribute the cause of differential aging to acceleration, while others believe that acceleration should not be regarded as the source of differential aging, but frame switch is. So far there is no agreement on this issue. Actually, acceleration and frame switch should not be regarded as the source of differential aging. The author will introduce a thought experiment in which two very long spacecraft are moving in opposite directions at a speed close to the speed of light to discuss the real cause of differential aging. The author found that the real cause of differential aging in the twin "paradox" is because of the asymmetry of destination choice. People always choose their destinations in the universe rather than in spacecraft. The destinations are always stationary relative to the homebody twin and moving relative to the traveller twin. Once we choose a destination in a reference frame, the distance is the proper length in this reference frame, but the distance will contract in another moving reference frame, thus the recording time will be shorter.


Functional Requirements of Bibliographic Records (FRBR) provides a clearly defined structured framework for the data recorded in bibliographic records to assist the information needs of users of those records. The impact of FRBR is not only on information organization but also on the presentation of the records in library catalogues. The purpose of this study is to examine the performance of finding materials correspond to the users' earch criteria in NBINet and the feasibility of implement FRBR framework in NBINet by generating the author/title keys adopted from the FRBR project done in OCLC. The author found the performance of finding materials and the quality of bibliographic records are highly correlated. It is necessary to enhance the quality of bibliographic records before implementing FRBR framework.


The 0.75 to 3 mol% Y2O3-stabilized tetragonal ZrO2 and Al2O3/Y-TZP nano-composite ceramics with 0.2 to 0.7 wt% of alumina were produced by a colloidal technique and low-temperature sintering. The influence of the resulting density, microstructure, the yttria-stabilizer and the alumina content on the hardness and toughness were determined. The bulk 2.7Y-TZP ceramic with an average grain size of 110 nm reached a hardness of 13.6 GPa and fracture toughness of 11.2 MPa·m 1/2 . A nano-grained alumina/zirconia composite with an average grain size of 92 nm was obtained, and the hardness increased to 16.8 GPa. Y-TZP ceramics with a reduced yttria-stabilizer content were shown to reach fracture toughness of 13.8 MPa·m 1/2 (2Y-TZP), and 14.5 MPa·m 1/2 (1.5Y-TZP). Y-TZP/alumina composites with 0.35 wt% of Al2O3 were shown to reach fracture toughness of 15.7 MPa·m 1/2 (2Y), 15.3 MPa·m 1/2 (1.5Y).


We study the behavior of a nonrelativistic quantum particle interacting with different potentials in the background space-time generated by a cosmic string. We find the energy spectra for the quantum systems under consideration and discuss how they differ from their flat Minkowski space-time values.


Objective: The aim of this study is the detection of a lifetime history of self injurious behavior as well as the determination of the relationship between self-injurious behavior and suicide attempt, suicidal ideation, anxiety and depression levels.
Methods: A cross-sectional analytic study was planned in high school students. The schools were stratified according to socioeconomic levels in order to encompass students from every socioeconomic level and a random school was chosen from each level through cluster sampling. Personal information and self-injurious behavior form, children's depression inventory, screen for child anxiety related emotional disorders were applied.
Results: A lifetime history of self-injurious behavior is 39.7%. 50.8% of adolescents showing self-injurious behavior were male and 49.2% were female, and their mean age is 15.6 ± 1.1. The most frequent type of self-injurious behavior was hitting a hard object with the head or another part of the body. Only 13.4% of the adolescents had sought help for self injurious behavior. Adolescents with self injurious behaviors were detected to have high levels of anxiety and depression. Adolescents with self-injurious behavior attempt suicide significantly more frequently. It has been observed that the frequency and causes of self-injurious behavior, anxiety and depression levels differ depending on gender among self-injurious adolescents.
Discussion: When working with self-injurious adolescents, detecting and treating the accompanying mental disorders may be important for preventing such behavior. It has been concluded that detecting the gender specific risk factors regarding self injurious behavior will be beneficial in developing preventive strategies for such behavior in future studies.


This paper presents a kind of method that the mobile terminal is seen as a tool to manage dynamic logistics information and inquiry line. First of all, based on real-time location technology of GPS equipment and the use of the serial port or Bluetooth mobile interface, the system has implemented the reading of the GPS positioning data, then it gives two-way data transmission between servers and the mobile terminal based on Web Service and GPRS/3G. Eventually it has successfully realized to exchange the information between location data and logistic platform and to locate the logistics vehicles. The realization of the system has a strong practical significance to the comprehensive logistics information platform which integrates the information of vehicles, cargo and freight trains.


This contribution analyses the presence of multilingual skills in the mountains of the Belluno Province, in particular in the area of Cadore and "Val di Zoldo", which for centuries, have been affected by the seasonal emigration of ice-cream makers to the German-speaking territories. The sociolinguistic reference data were extracted from my doctoral thesis (Campanale 2006a) and are based on quantitative analysis (196 completed questionnaires) and a qualitative one with two types of interviews "structured with a fixed response" and "structured with a free response". Despite the 1999 Law on the Protection of Minorities, very few measures have so far been put in place to improve the local linguistic heritage. However, there has been a renewed interest in the linguistic policies of these territories following the passing of the new Statute of Veneto in 2012, as well as the regional Laws in 2007, 2014, 2019 and 2021. This is above all reflected in schools with some innovative experiments of Ladin using the CLIL method.


Huge application of non-linear load and electronics apparatus in power system generates harmonics. That makes the current wave form distorted and causes huge power loss in power system. This problem can be overcome by application of Shunt Active Power Flitter (SAPF). Shunt Active Power Filters in an electric power network can improve the quality of power system by removing harmonics which are generated by non- linear load. In this project, a voltage-source PWM converter, and a Super Conductor Magnet for energy storage is used to design a Shunt Active Power Filter. Earlier use of copper inductor to store the energy for compensation the harmonics in Shunt Active Power Filter causes a power loss, to reduce these power losses instead of copper inductor a Superconductor Magnet is placed in Shunt Active Power Filter. Shunt Active Power Filter is designed by using 'Instantaneous Power Theory' or 'p-q Theory'. Switching pulses for Voltage source converter is generated by using Hysteresis Band Controller. DC/DC is also designed to control the Super Conductor Magnet. Charging and Discharging of Magnet is base switching operation of DC/DC converter. Total Harmonic Distortion (THD) in wave, during charging and discharging of Magnet is calculated and presented in this paper .The results of simulation are satisfied with all the property explained by the theory. This paper describes simulation and evolution of SAPF for removing the harmonics. Simulations are done using MATLAB/Simulink Software and results are presented.


Fossil Crow shark teeth, extinct genus Squalicorax, are widespread and are reported from the Late Cretaceous of Europe, northern Africa and North America. In the spring of 2011 a fossil tooth of Squalicorax kaupi was discovered in glacial debris of north-central Missouri. The tooth is fairly worn. It is about 1.5 cm tall and 1.6 cm at its widest point. Both cutting edges show evidence of heavy serrations though they are preserved well only at the distal notch. Portions of the enamel are missing and the broken edges are worn smooth. There are two likely sources for the fossil shark tooth of this study. It could have arrived in Missouri by fluvial and glacial movements from formations of the Western Interior Seaway of Kansas, Nebraska or Iowa or from the north northwest by glacial movements from the Hudson Seaway. There are no marine deposits of the Late Cretaceous in this part of Missouri, but Late Cretaceous marine formations and fossils are abundant from Kansas and Nebraska and lesser so from Iowa.


This paper assessed the level of crop productivity before and during rural banditry in Zamfara State, Nigeria. Interview schedule was used to collect data from 360 respondents that were selected for the study. A multi stage and simple random sampling technique was used in selecting the respondents. Descriptive statistical tools (mean, percentages, frequency distribution) and inferential statistics (paired sample T-test and Spearman`s correlation coefficient) were used for data analysis. The results of the study reveals that majority of the respondents were married with an average household size of 8 persons and income level of less than N 20,000/month. The results also reveals that there is a significant difference between the respondents' productivity before and during rural banditry, with a sharp decline in production to less than 1000kg/season implying consequential effect on the respondent productivity as a result of rural banditry engagement in the study area. The hypothesis shows that, r_scalculated is 0. 9521.. Based on the finding of the study, it could be concluded that rural banditry poses poor economic growth, increased rural poverty, poor participation, and poor programme implementation and induces fear and uncertainty. The study therefore, recommend that urgent provision of adequate security personnel to Mann the porous borders, prompt enrollment of the vulnerable into government social investment programmes, organize training/seminars for peace building purpose and also government should register all mining site and their activities properly monitored.


Background Hematological medicine is a practical discipline that is difficult to study. Problem-based learning (PBL) is an innovative student-centered teaching method wherein students define their own learning objectives from clinically based problems. Considering that WeChat is the most popular communication app in China, we selected it as a new platform for online PBL to reduce the limitations of traditional PBL in hematology teaching. Objective This study aims to explore a new pedagogical method called WeChat-PBL, which is based on real micro clinical cases for postgraduates majoring in hematology and to demonstrate its feasibility and acceptability. Methods A total of 48 hematological postgraduates and 7 tutors participated in this study. We divided the participants into 7 groups where students can learn theoretical knowledge. After each course, the members of each group were required to complete in-class quizzes. Moreover, the students and tutors were required to fill out periodic (after each class) and overall (after each semester) evaluations. Results A total of 8 micro clinical cases were presented in WeChat-PBL. The average quiz score for acute myelogenous leukemia, chronic myeloid leukemia, multiple myeloma, acute promyelocytic leukemia, and lymphoma were 89.0%, 86.0%, 83.4%, 88.8%, and 77.5%, respectively. Periodic evaluations showed that both students and tutors were satisfied with the process of WeChat-PBL. The overall evaluation results showed that WeChat-PBL was able to positively impact the learning experiences of hematological postgraduates. Conclusions Our results indicate the feasibility and acceptability of the WeChat-PBL teaching method for postgraduates majoring in hematology.


Here we demonstrate that during strategic gameplay monkeys behave as if they reason recursively about other individuals' beliefs and desires in order to predict their choices and to guide their own actions, especially the decision to cooperate. Neurons in mid superior temporal sulcus (mSTS), the putative homolog of the human temporo-parietal junction (TPJ), signal abstract non-perceptual social information, including payoffs, intentions, and outcomes, and further distinguish between social and nonsocial agents while monkeys play the game. We demonstrate for the first time that a subpopulation of these neurons selectively signals cooperatively obtained rewards. Neurons in the anterior cingulate gyrus (ACCg), an area implicated in vicarious reinforcement and empathy, do not distinguish agency and as a population carry less information about strategic variables. These findings suggest the capacity to mentalize has deep roots in the strategic social behavior of primates, and endorse mSTS as the evolutionary wellspring of these functions.


The notion that economic changes embedded in Japan's transition from an agriculturally-based to an industrially-based economy have been associated with corresponding changes in family structure and organization is tested. Changes which did occur were relative and not absolute. Changes in Japanese social organization since 1600 have not been uniform but in fact have been quite varied depending on socio-economic and ecological conditions. Current Japanese trends of decreasing agriculture and increasing industrial urbanization will lead to a continuation in the emergence of the single-person and nuclear family households, equal succession and inheritance, "love" marriages, and neolocal residence as the dominant forms. Nevertheless, the Japanese people are unique in their ongoing attachment to their rich cultural heritage. As long as this loyalty continues, the ie principle will continue to hold an important position in their social lives.


Auditing (accounting) researchers have published over 24,000 (75,000) academic articles (Google Scholar September 2016) using a variety of research methods since 1970. Yet accounting and auditing standard setters and regulators have frequently cited their inability to engage with and utilize this research to make evidence-informed standard setting and regulatory decisions. For society to benefit from the large research investment in accounting and auditing, the knowledge gained from that research needs to be transferred to such accounting and auditing policymakers. We draw conceptually on the knowledge creation and knowledge transfer literature to understand the barriers to utilizing academic research knowledge in applied settings. Based on this conceptual material, we then examine what the evidence-based policy and management movement holds up as the paradigmatic example of such knowledge transfer – evidence-based medicine (EBM). In particular, we focus on EBM knowledge translation approaches related to the development of evidence-based guidelines, treatment protocols and best practices. Researchers in medicine, management and policy have studied these approaches extensively and these approaches are current best practice examples of how to meet the knowledge transfer challenge that will allow the deployment of research by those who have need of it. Through this analysis of knowledge transfer theory and practice in other settings, we seek to understand and propose a tentative strategy to address the barriers between accounting and auditing research knowledge and policymaking. We provide a concrete example, based on our research in progress, of how to apply this approach to knowledge transfer in the context of a specific standard setting project – group audits.


Fraud review detection is a hot research topic in recent years. The Cold-start is a particularly new but significant problem referring to the failure of a detection system to recognize the authenticity of a new user. State-of-the-art solutions employ a translational knowledge graph embedding approach (TransE) to model the interaction of the components of a review system. However, these approaches suffer from the limitation of TransE in handling N-1 relations and the narrow scope of a single classification task, i.e., detecting fraudsters only. In this paper, we model a review system as a Heterogeneous Information Network (HIN) which enables a unique representation to every component and performs graph inductive learning on the review data through aggregating features of nearby nodes. HIN with graph induction helps to address the camouflage issue (fraudsters with genuine reviews) which has shown to be more severe when it is coupled with cold-start, i.e., new fraudsters with genuine first reviews. In this research, instead of focusing only on one component, detecting either fraud reviews or fraud users (fraudsters), vector representations are learned for each component, enabling multi-component classification. In other words, we can detect fraud reviews, fraudsters, and fraud-targeted items, thus the name of our approach DFraud3. DFraud3 demonstrates a significant accuracy increase of 13% over the state of the art on Yelp.


In this work, the semi-distributed hydrological modeling system GEOframe-NewAge was integrated with a web-based decision support system implemented for the Civil Protection Agency of the Basilicata region, Italy. The aim of this research was to forecast in near real-time the most important hydrological variables at 160 control points distributed over the entire region. The major challenge was to make the system operational in a data-scarce region characterized by a high hydraulic complexity, with several dams and infrastructures. In fact, only six streamflow gauges were available for the calibration of the model parameters. Reliable parameter sets were obtained by simulating the hydrological budget and then calibrating the rainfall-runoff parameters. After the extraction of the flow-rating curves, six sets of parameters were obtained considering the different streamflow components (i.e., the baseflow and surface runoff) and using a multi-site calibration approach. The results show a good agreement between the measured and modeled discharges, with a better agreement in the sections located upstream of the dams. Moreover, the results were validated using the inflows measured at the most important dams (Pertusillo, San Giuliano and Monte Cotugno). For rivers without monitoring points, parameters were assigned using a principle of hydrological similarity in terms of their geology, lithology, and climate.


Paracentesis has been considered a relatively safe procedure; however, hemorrhagic complications do occur and can be fatal, especially in the context of coagulopathy. We describe the case of a 47-year-old man with coagulopathy secondary to end-stage liver disease, whose hospital course was complicated by paracentesis-related hemoperitoneum leading to abdominal compartment syndrome. Emergent laparotomy revealed left inferior epigastric artery laceration caused by paracentesis. Despite operative control of bleeding, postoperatively, the patient developed severe metabolic acidosis, disseminated intravascular coagulation, and ultimately died from complications of hemorrhagic shock. Understanding key anatomic structures is essential for patient safety in the setting of paracentesis. While recognizing the lack of clinical studies demonstrating the effectiveness of ultrasonography use in paracentesis, we discuss the benefit of bedside abdominal ultrasonography to locate ascites and avoid intraabdominal structures, as well as vascular ultrasonography, during needle insertion to avoid abdominal wall vessels.


Classical supervised learning produces unreliable models when training and target distributions differ, with most existing solutions requiring samples from the target domain. We propose a proactive approach which learns a relationship in the training domain that will generalize to the target domain by incorporating prior knowledge of aspects of the data generating process that are expected to differ as expressed in a causal selection diagram. Specifically, we remove variables generated by unstable mechanisms from the joint factorization to yield the Surgery Estimator---an interventional distribution that is invariant to the differences across environments. We prove that the surgery estimator finds stable relationships in strictly more scenarios than previous approaches which only consider conditional relationships, and demonstrate this in simulated experiments. We also evaluate on real world data for which the true causal diagram is unknown, performing competitively against entirely data-driven approaches.


The thesis seeks to steal only with a limited aspect of Engels' thesis on the relationship between drunkenness and industrialisation during the early 19th century - with the organisation, sources of support and leadership of the three liquor restrictionist campaigns before 1869 - the anti-spirits,teetotal, and prohibitionist movements 0 The attempt to solve the drink problem through the association of abstainers did not begun until the appearance of the anti-spirits movement in Britain in 1828-9. Although for centuries there had been individual abstainers, and even public campaigns against drunkenness, nobody had thought of founding a temperance society . Three recent social changes prepared the way for the early anti-spirits movement. Firstly, the gradual abandonment of drunkenness by fashionable society at least by the end of the 18th century, and the appearance of a sober labour aristocracy by the 1820s. Secondly,the sophistication after the late 18th century of techniques of public agitation; and thirdly the desire evinced by certain sections of society , partially pcvincial manufacturers and nonconformists, allied with labour aristocrats, for certain radical changes in the political and social system. The idea of anti-spirits association originated in America in the 1820s and soon reached Britain via the Anglo- American philanthropic network. Originating simultaneously in Glasgow with John Dunlop and in Belfast with Dr. John Edgar, the new movement soon spread to the North of England. By 1831 the British and Foreign Temperance Society had been established at Exeter Hall. In individual instances, religious zeal was the motivating force, but other factors seem to have made British society in the late 1820s receptive to temperance agitation. The suspicion that religious factors are not the only influences at work is suggested by two considerations: temperance was ardently recommended both by religious and irreligious opinion-formers, and the temperance movement appeared at the same time as many other pressures on working people to conserve their resources. Relevant factors seem to be the following. Taxation changes in the 1820s had prompted fears that a second "gin age" might be imminent; difficulties with the textile industries in the North seem to have increased the attractiveness of a movement which promised to extend the home market and discipline the work force. Manufacturers in the Northern cities showed some enthusiasm for the early anti-spirits movemaot. Thirdly, the cheapening and improved accessibility of non-intoxicating drinks made organised abstinence from intoxicants more feasible than at any earlier date. The first parliamentary inquiry into drunkenness was held in 1854, and although its recommendations were in many ways far-sighted, it was ridiculed by parliament and the press largely for two reasons: because of the unpopularity of its chairman, the radical J.S.Buckingham and of his associates on the committee - the Evangelicals. And secondly because the committee's long-term suggestions - notably prohibition - were mistaken for immediate recommendations, provincial society in the Northern industrial towns was more favourable than London opinion towards the committee and to its report. [continued in text ...]


This article examines how women's broadcasting promoted consciousness and appreciation of the United States during the 1930s and 1940s. These were decades in which Australians had limited access to US news and culture, and Hollywood dominated local imaginings of US society. In this climate, Australians who had lived Stateside were hailed as authorities on the nation and its people, and they often spoke on radio. Among these "America educators" were significant numbers of women. Armed with firsthand knowledge of the wider world, these female travelers could claim space in a broadcasting landscape otherwise dominated by men. Through their radio broadcasts, they aspired to foster transpacific understanding and friendship. Women's broadcasting was therefore a cultural force at the vanguard of Australia's "turn to America." More than a manifestation of US popular culture, radio depicted the United States as an ally of and model for Australia during an era of entrenched British allegiance.


Gastro-oesophageal reflux disease (GORD) is a highly prevalent chronic disorder in which retrograde flow of gastric contents into the oesophagus causes troublesome symptoms or lesions. Proton pump inhibitor (PPI) therapy controls reflux disease in 95% of the patients and the remaining 5% have PPI-refractory GORD. Patients with PPI-refractory GORD, unwillingness to take lifelong medication or extra-oesophageal manifestations are candidates for anti-reflux surgery. Candidates for antireflux surgery with erosive reflux disease on upper endoscopy and/or pathological reflux in supine or bipositional body position with a positive symptom-reflux association during 24-h pH metry, have a classic indication for antireflux surgery. The aims of this study were (I) to explore indications for laparoscopic antireflux surgery, (II) to compare fundoplication techniques and (III) evaluate physiological effects. Consecutive cohort studies proved that candidates for antireflux surgery with isolated upright reflux, oesophageal acid hypersensitivity, negative symptom-reflux correlation or non-erosive reflux disease benefit from laparoscopic Nissen fundoplication (LNF) as much as those with classic indications for surgery. Consequently, indications for antireflux surgery should be broadened and fundoplication should not be withheld from these patients. On the other hand, patients with poor oesophageal peristalsis or high supine acid exposure before surgery should be counselled about their higher chance of recurrent reflux after LNF. A cohort study in 2040 patients demonstrated that tailoring the degree of fundoplication based on preoperative oesophageal motility is probably not necessary, since oesophageal peristalsis before surgery has no impact on postfundoplication dysphagia. A small cohort study found that LNF for failed endoluminal EsophyX fundoplication provides satisfactory reflux control, but is associated with a risk of gastric perforations during LNF and a high rate of postfundoplication dysphagia. The ten-year results of a randomised clinical trial (RCT) in 146 patients demonstrated that laparoscopic anti-reflux surgery reduces the reoperation rate for incisional hernia (2.5%versus13.0%) with similar long-term effectiveness compared with conventional fundoplication. Surgeon experience, however, affected early outcome of laparoscopic fundoplication and this pleads for centralisation of expertise. LNF is the most frequently performed operation for GORD. Dysphagia and gas-related symptoms are the main side-effects of LNF and a study that preformed impedance monitoring before and after LNF demonstrated that the latter are caused by a reduction in the number of gastric belches that is accompanied by an increase in oesophageal belching. Partial laparoscopic anterior (LAF) and Toupet fundoplication (LTF) have been proposed to reduce these symptoms. The 5-year results of 4 RCTs in 425 patients demonstrated that 90 LAF provides inferior long-term reflux control compared with LNF. In contrast, 180 LAF reduced dysphagia and gas-related symptoms compared with LNF, with similar long-term control of reflux symptoms. In a meta-analysis of RCTs, LTF was associated with fewer reinterventions (3.1%versus7.0%), less dysphagia and fewer gas-related symptoms, with similar reflux control compared with LNF. A subsequent impedance study shed light on the physiological origin of these findings and found that LNF and LTF similarly control acid and weakly acidic reflux, with a smaller reduction of gastric belches. Therefore, 180 LAF and LTF should be considered the surgical procedure of choice for GORD


Background —Rheumatoid arthritis (RA) is associated with increased cardiovascular risk, which is not explained by traditional cardiovascular risk factors but may be due in part to increased aortic stiffness, an independent predictor of cardiovascular mortality. In the present study, our aim was to establish whether aortic stiffness is increased in RA and to investigate the relationship between inflammation and aortic stiffness. In addition, we tested the hypothesis that aortic stiffness could be reduced with anti–tumor necrosis factor- (cid:1) (TNF- (cid:1) ) therapy. Methods and Results —Aortic pulse-wave velocity (PWV), augmentation index, and blood pressure were measured in 77 patients with RA and in 142 healthy individuals. Both acute and chronic inflammatory measures and disease activity were determined. The effect of anti-TNF- (cid:1) therapy on PWV and endothelial function was measured in 9 RA patients at 0, 4, and 12 weeks. Median (interquartile range) aortic PWV was significantly higher in subjects with RA than in control subjects (8.35 [7.14 to 10.24] versus 7.52 [6.56 to 9.18] m/s, respectively; P (cid:1) 0.005). In multiple regression analyses, aortic PWV correlated independently with age, mean arterial pressure, and log-transformed C-reactive protein ( R 2 (cid:1) 0.701; P (cid:2) 0.0001). Aortic PWV was reduced significantly by anti-TNF- (cid:3) respectively; (cid:2) stepwise model were considered either because they were established or putative determinants of stiffness or were based on an initial regression analysis with an "enter" model, whereby factors were included if they achieved a significance value of (cid:2) 0.4. In study 2, Greenhouse-Geisser–corrected probability values were used if Mauchly's test revealed a violation of sphericity. The 1-way repeated-measures ANOVA was used to investigate the effect of etanercept, where the element of time was given as discrete time points. Within-subject contrasts were tested for significance with custom hypothesis tests (simple). Unpaired 2-tailed Student t tests were used to compare differences between cases and controls. Values are represented as mean (cid:3) SD or medians (interquartile range). A probability of (cid:2) 0.05 was considered significant. The authors had full access to the data and take full responsibility for its integrity. All authors have read and agree to the manuscript as written. velocity in a cohort of RA patients and matched healthy control subjects. Additionally, we tested the hypothesis that increased aortic stiffness and endothelial dysfunction are reversible with anti–tumor necrosis factor- (cid:1) therapy. Our main findings were that RA is associated with increased aortic stiffness compared with healthy controls. Interestingly, aortic stiffness correlated with current but not historical measures of inflammation or disease score, which suggests that increased arterial stiffness may be modifiable. Indeed, anti–tumor necrosis factor- (cid:1) therapy reduced aortic stiffness and concomitantly improved endothelial function to a level comparable to that of healthy individuals. This suggests that effective control of inflammation may reduce cardiovascular risk in patients with RA as it improves arterial stiffness and endothelial function, both of which are established surrogate measures of cardiovascular risk. Moreover, RA may serve as a useful model to investigate the effects of other immunomodulatory agents on arterial stiffness and endothelial function.


Research on sago palm has been a main focus in Sarawak state as it has a great potential to
boost the economy. Various studies have been performed on this starchy plant and one of it is
the study on its starch biosynthesis pathway. Starch synthase was identified as one of the
enzymes that play vital role in biosynthesis of starch. Therefore the profiling and
characterization of starch synthase has been studie . Three palms were sampled from Bau
district, specifically from KampungTanjong and KampungSidoh. Targeted part for studies on
the palm wasthe base height, middle height, and top height of the trunk. Initial studies were
the optimization of specific extraction protocol for starch synthase from sago palm withthe
GBSS buffer was identified as the most suitable buffer. The best method for post extraction
purification and concentration was determined as the cold acetone precipitation method. Then
total starch content in 1 g/mL of sample and total protein concentration was measured and
undergoes ANOV A, with the statistical analysis showed no significant difference (p < 0.05)
oftotal starch content in 1 g/mL of sample and total protein concentration among each palms.
However ANOVA on the data for starch content between the inner part and outer part of the
trunk showed the outer part contained more starch than the inner part. Presence of Starch
Synthase (SS) in optimization-treated sample and all samples were confirmed through HPLC
analysis as quantitative result and SDS-P AGE analysis as qualitative result. Subsequently the
activities of SS were assayed through spectrophotometer. The results showed no significant
different (p < 0.05)between SS activity with the trunk's height. Developments of specific
primers have been done by few researchers on sago palm. In this study, a pairs of PCR primers were designed from cDNA library of sago palm and others starchy plants. The studies
were initiated by total RNA isolation and RNA's conversion to cDNA. The cDNAintegrity
was confirmed using polymerase chain reaction technique using in house gene primer, called
elf-F and elf-R. The cDNA was further amplified and sequenced. Primer with labeled ssJ was
confirmed to be a specific primer for starch synthase as the BLAST resulted in percentage of
similarities with Zea mays full length cDNA clone (79%), Zea mays starch synthase IIc
precursor (68%), Triticumaestivllm starch synthase IIc precursor (77%), and Oryza Sativa
soluble starch synthase II-I mRNA (77%).Characterization of SS in sago palm's trunk were
further analyzed through Western blotting and the results has confirmed the presence of SS
isoform at the size of 66.2 kDa, 45 kDa, 29 kDa, 26 kDa, and 17.7 kDa molecular
mass.Although Northern blot analysis was failed, the specificity of the designed ssFI and
ssRI primer was confirmed. Conclusively, this research has successfully identified the
presence and size of SS isoform in sago palm's trunk and its activity was observed to be
slightly gradually increased with the trunk's height.


This paper studies the co-channel interference (CCI) problem for time-division-multiple-access (TDMA) cellular mobile communication systems with burst transmission. We present a method using learn vector quantization (LVQ) to cancel CCI for such systems. The model of the overall CCI is significantly simplified based on that of the individual CCI. The LVQ is realized as a classification equalizer with a decision feedback adaptive filter. An extremely small number of unique words (UWs) is utilized to initialize the LVQ equalizer. Simulation results show that the bit error rate (BER) of our proposed method is much better than that of the recently proposed nearest neighbor classification (NNC) equalizer.


One of the major challenges for planning is to take into account the time dimension. In this paper, we present a simple approach to deal with temporally expressive problems, that is problems for which all possible solutions require concurrency of actions. Our planner TLP-GP mixes some of the advantages of GRAPHPLAN search with a constraint-based and flexible temporal formalism. Its language is consistent with PDDL 2. 1 and extends its expressivity. Experimental trials on new temporally expressive benchmarks show the efficiency of our approach and demonstrate the practical possibility of solving temporally expressive problems which up until now were unsolvable by existing techniques.


This study explores the portrayals of Canadian police officers and the nature of community surveillance techniques of bystanders by examining a sample of YouTube videos. An exploratory content analysis of these videos allowed for identification of themes in police conduct and police portrayal. Trends in community surveillance, including bystander conduct and influence, have also been identified. Interview research was conducted with four Canadian police officers to compliment previous findings. Interview participants established that Canadian police officers have similar perspectives towards community surveillance and social media. Finally, statistical analysis of YouTube video data allowed for the exploration of viewer reception to videos in the sample. This multi-methodical research surrounding the topic of community surveillance of police-citizen encounters allows for an extensive understanding of Canadian police portrayal in YouTube, and how community surveillance, bystander influences, and social media impact the field of policing.


Investing in housing, healthcare, education, basic utilities and nutrition can not only fulfill a social mission, but it can also be a profitable business venture.
This is the concept of IGNIA Fund, which will channel venture capital resources to fund commercially viable growth companies serving the base of the pyramid, those persons in Latin America and the Caribbean earning less than $3,260 a year.The IGNIA Fund selects projects with the potential to be expanded on a larger scale, thereby increasing the social and economic impact.


Resource allocation in High Performance Computing (HPC) settings is still not easy for end-users due to the wide variety of application and environment configuration options. Users have difficulties to estimate the number of processors and amount of memory required by their jobs, select the queue and partition, and estimate when job output will be available to plan for next experiments. Apart from wasting infrastructure resources by making wrong allocation decisions, overall user response time can also be negatively impacted. Techniques that exploit batch scheduler systems to predict waiting time and runtime of user jobs have already been proposed. However, we observed that such techniques are not suitable for predicting job memory usage. In this paper we introduce a tool to help users predict their memory requirements using machine learning. We describe the integration of the tool with a batch scheduler system, discuss how batch scheduler log data can be exploited to generate memory usage predictions through machine learning, and present results of two production systems containing thousands of jobs.


The coherent agglomeration of interstitial oxygen into single-plane and double-plane plates can explain the two peaks in the M-shaped nucleation curves in Czochralski silicon. The density of nucleation sites for the double-plane plates corresponds to the VO2 concentration. Ab initio calculations have shown that the agglomeration of oxygen atoms in single-plane and doubleplane plates is energetically favorable. These plates are under compressive strain. VO2 agglomeration plays only a minor role for modeling the M-shaped nucleation curves because of prior homogenization treatments. It is of much higher impact if as-grown wafers are subjected to nucleation anneals because of the higher vacancy concentration which was frozen in during crystal cooling. This results in higher nucleation rates at higher temperatures. Because the oxygen diffusivity below 700 °C is important for the nucleation rate and many controversial results about the diffusivity in this temperature range were published, we have analyzed the data from literature. We have demonstrated that the effective diffusivity of oxygen at temperatures below 700 °C which corresponds to the quasi equilibrium dimer concentration is very similar to the extrapolation from oxygen diffusivity at high temperature. The high effective diffusivities from out-diffusion and precipitation experiments, and the somewhat lower effective diffusivities from dislocation locking experiments are the result of an ongoing formation of fast diffusing dimers because the equilibrium is disturbed as the result of the strongly increasing difference in the diffusion length between interstitial oxygen and the fast diffusing dimer with decreasing temperature.


Background Few studies have documented the possibility of treatment-induced improvements in language functions 12 months or longer after stroke. The purpose of the current study was to provide a preliminary estimate of efficacy of constraint-induced aphasia therapy (CIAT) when compared to no-intervention in patients with chronic (>1 year) post-stroke aphasia in order to provide the data needed to design an appropriately powered trial. Material/Methods This was a randomized, controlled, single-blinded, pilot trial. We identified 32 patients with chronic post-stroke aphasia. Of these, 27 were offered participation, and 24 were randomized (CONSORT diagram): 14 to CIAT and to 10 to no-intervention. CIAT groups received up to 4 hours/day of intervention for 10 consecutive business days (40 hours of therapy). Outcomes were assessed within 1 week of intervention and at 1 and 12 weeks after intervention and included several linguistic measures and a measure of overall subjective communication abilities (mini-Communicative Abilities Log (mini-CAL)). To maintain blinding, clinicians treating patients (CIAT group) did not communicate with other team members and the testing team members were blinded to treatment group assignment. Results Overall, the results of this pilot trial support the results of previous observational studies that CIAT may lead to improvements in linguistic abilities. At 12 weeks, the treatment group reported better subjective communication abilities (mini-CAL) than the no-intervention group (p=0.019). Other measures trended towards better performance in the CIAT group. Conclusions In this randomized, controlled, and blinded pilot study, intensive language therapy (CIAT) led to an improvement in subjective language abilities. The effects demonstrated allow the design of a definitive trial of CIAT in patients with a variety of post-stroke aphasia types. In addition, our experiences have identified important considerations for designing subsequent trial(s) of CIAT or other interventions for post-stroke aphasia.


Dinophysis norvegica is a commonly occurring dinoflagellate species and a producer of diarrhetic shellfish poisons. Natural samples were collected from Trondheim fjord, Norway, to analyse nutrient (O, C, N, P) and toxin (dinophysitoxins [DXTs], okadaic acid [OA], pectenotoxins [PTXs]) content in D. norvegica cells. Nutrient and toxin analyses were also carried out on cells grown under nutrient-sufficient and nutrient-deficient conditions to determine how intracellular nutrient and toxin content varied under different nutrient availability conditions. Nutrient analyses were conducted using nuclear microprobe techniques that can accurately analyse single cells, and toxin analyses were carried out using liquid chromatography and mass spectroscopy. The intracellular carbon, nitrogen and phosphorus content in individual cells varied greatly, and intracellular C:N:P ratios showed that the cells were both N- and P-deficient when compared to the Redfield ratio. The ideal N:P ratio in the media for D. norvegica was found to be below the Redfield ratio, but intracellular ratios did not show a clear relationship with those in the media. N:P ratios of D. norvegica were higher than expected, which is likely due to their phagotrophy on zooplankon. The highest toxin values found were traces of PTX2, 24.72 pg PTX2SA cell(-1), 2.19 pg DTX1 cell(-1), and 1.01 pg OA cell(-1). However, we found no clear relationship between the content of intracellular nutrients and toxins.


A solitary plasmacytoma of bone occurs in approximately 2-5% of patients with myeloma. The lesion mostly found in the axial skeleton and have infrequently been reported to arise in the hand, and usually occur in the distal phalanges. We report the interesting case of a 75-year-old man who developed a solitary lytic lesion of the thumb proximal phalanx. This lesion was explored through MR imaging and histologic examination, and then a final diagnosis of plasmacytoma was determined. He was treated with fractionated radiotherapy and no complication was detected with this procedure. The clinical, imaging, and histologic findings of this case are presented here.


Mouse fibroblast cells overexpressing phosphatidylinositol transfer protein alpha [PI-TPalpha; sense PI-TPalpha (SPIalpha) cells] show a significantly increased rate of proliferation and an extreme resistance toward ultraviolet- or tumor necrosis factor-alpha-induced apoptosis. The conditioned medium (CM) from SPIalpha cells or the neutral lipid extract from CM stimulated the proliferation of quiescent wild-type NIH3T3 cells. CM was also highly effective in increasing resistance toward induced apoptosis in both wild-type cells and the highly apoptosis-sensitive SPIbeta cells (i.e., wild-type cells overexpressing PI-TPbeta). CM from SPIalpha cells grown in the presence of NS398, a specific cyclooxygenase-2 (COX-2) inhibitor, expressed a diminished mitogenic and antiapoptotic activity. This strongly suggests that at least one of the bioactive factor(s) is an eicosanoid. In accordance, SPIalpha cells express enhanced levels of COX-1 and COX-2. The antiapoptotic activity of CM from SPIalpha cells tested on SPIbeta cells was inhibited by approximately 50% by pertussis toxin and suramin as well as by SR141716A, a specific antagonist of the cannabinoid 1 receptor. These inhibitors had virtually no effect on the COX-2-independent antiapoptotic activity of CM from SPIalpha cells. The latter results imply that PI-TPalpha mediates the production of a COX-2-dependent eicosanoid that activates a G-protein-coupled receptor, most probably a cannabinoid 1-like receptor.


Duchenne muscular dystrophy (DMD) is an X-linked recessive disease affecting 1 in 3600—6000 live male births. A muscle biopsy is not necessary if a genetic diagnosis is secured first, particularly as some families might view the procedure as traumatic. DMD occurs as a result of mutations (mainly deletions) in the dystrophin gene (DMD; locus Xp21.2). Mutations lead to an absence of or defect in the protein dystrophin, which results in progressive muscle degeneration leading to loss of independent ambulation. Ninety percent of out frame mutations result in DMD, while 90% of in-frame mutations result in BMD. Electron microscopy is not required to confirm DMD. Genetic testing is mandatory irrespective of biopsy results. But the muscle biopsy is not required if the diagnosis is secured first by genetic testing.


Poxvirus systems have been extensively used as vaccine vectors. Herein a RNA-Seq analysis of intramuscular injection sites provided detailed insights into host innate immune responses, as well as expression of vector and recombinant immunogen genes, after vaccination with a new multiplication defective, vaccinia-based vector, Sementis Copenhagen Vector. Chikungunya and Zika virus immunogen mRNA and protein expression was associated with necrosing skeletal muscle cells surrounded by mixed cellular infiltrates. The multiple adjuvant signatures at 12 hours post-vaccination were dominated by TLR3, 4 and 9, STING, MAVS, PKR and the inflammasome. Th1 cytokine signatures were dominated by IFNγ, TNF and IL1β, and chemokine signatures by CCL5 and CXCL12. Multiple signatures associated with dendritic cell stimulation were evident. By day seven, vaccine transcripts were absent, and cell death, neutrophil, macrophage and inflammation annotations had abated. No compelling arthritis signatures were identified. Such injection site vaccinology approaches should inform refinements in poxvirus-based vector design.


We define an opened educational space, as a context of scientific content that can be associated with different approaches, at several disciplines. The opened educational space is used as an integrative and unifier auxiliary teaching, for various disciplines in the curriculum and it allows increasing and accelerating the formation of transversal skills. The opened educational space is a digital auxiliary teaching, with educational valences specific of learning programs. It implements in different and unitary teaching scenarios, the elements of scientific content specific to a discipline, in a real situational context, intuitive, common to several disciplines. This manner of design, outlines the characteristics of a transdisciplinary educational software. The teaching scenario for the learning program, afferent to each discipline, allows to the student to approach scientific context of the lesson in an interdisciplinary context, without affecting the rigor and consistency of approach monodiciplinare. In this way, it creates a scientific context that allows students to explore and discover new elements of scientific content in an interdisciplinary context, logical and intuitive. The student is placed in the center of the cognitive context. The manner of approach maintains and supplies its interest to the approached scientific content. In this way, it outlines skills that enable the student to adapt to the dynamics and complexity of reality, in the diversity of contexts in which the reality is manifested. There are also targeted, professional or extra-professional skills, schoolar or extracurricular skills, formal or non-formal, local or global, familiar or unfamiliar skills. The knowledge system, the abilities, the habits, the formed and attitudes skills, "cross" the professional or different disciplinary fields, being present in each of them, but being specific to neither of them. These are the defining characteristics for transversal skills. This manner of designing the training process allows the teacher a concentration of resources in the direction of rising the formation, internal and external components of the involved skills. It is noticed a sensitive and visible nearness by the resource-based learning paradigm, through the integrating and unifying character of their exploitation.


Charts are presented for the calculation of (a) the final temperatures and the temperature changes involved in constant-pressure combustion processes of air and in products of combustion of air and hydrocarbon fuels, and (b) the quantity of hydrocarbon fuels required in order to attain a specified combustion temperature when water, alcohol, water-alcohol mixtures, liquid ammonia, liquid carbon dioxide, liquid nitrogen, liquid oxygen, or their mixtures are added to air as diluents or refrigerants. The ideal combustion process and combustion with incomplete heat release from the primary fuel and from combustible diluents are considered. The effect of preheating the mixture of air and diluents and the effect of an initial water-vapor content in the combustion air on the required fuel quantity are also included. The charts are applicable only to processes in which the final mixture is leaner than stoichiometric and at temperatures where dissociation is unimportant. A chart is also included to permit the calculation of the stoichiometric ratio of hydrocarbon fuel to air with diluent addition. The use of the charts is illustrated by numerical examples.


OBJECTIVE
To compare risk of reintervention, long-term clinical outcomes, and health care utilization among women who have bulk symptoms from leiomyoma and who underwent the following procedures: hysterectomy, myomectomy, uterine artery embolization, and magnetic resonance-guided, focused ultrasound surgery.

METHODS
This was a retrospective analysis of administrative claims from a large U.S. commercial insurance database. Women aged 18-54 years undergoing any of the previously mentioned leiomyoma procedures between 2000 and 2013 were included. We assessed the following outcome measures: risk of reintervention between uterine-sparing procedures, risk of other surgical procedures or complications of the index procedure, 5-year health care utilization, pregnancy rates, and reproductive outcomes. Propensity score matching along with Cox proportional hazard models were used to adjust for differences in baseline characteristics between study cohorts.

RESULTS
Among the 135,522 study-eligible women with mean follow-up of 3.4 years, hysterectomy was the most common first-line procedural therapy (111,324 [82.2%]) followed by myomectomy (19,965 [14.7%]), uterine artery embolization (4,186 [3.1%]) and magnetic resonance-guided focused ultrasound surgery (47 [0.0003%]). Small but statistically significant differences were noted for uterine artery embolization and myomectomy in reintervention rate (17.1% compared with 15.0%, P=.02), subsequent hysterectomy rates (13.2% compared with 11.1%, P<.01) and subsequent complications from index procedures (18.1% compared with 24.6%, P<.001). During follow-up, women undergoing myomectomy had lower leiomyoma-related health care utilization, but had higher all-cause outpatient services. Pregnancy rates were 7.5% and 2.2% among myomectomy and uterine artery embolization cohorts, respectively (P<.001) with both cohorts having similar rates of adverse reproductive outcome (69.4%).

CONCLUSIONS
Although the overwhelming majority of women having leiomyoma with bulk symptoms underwent hysterectomy as their first treatment procedure, among those undergoing uterine-sparing index procedures, approximately one seventh had a reintervention, and one tenth ended up undergoing hysterectomy during follow-up. Compared with women undergoing myomectomy, women undergoing uterine artery embolization had a higher risk of reintervention, lower risk of subsequent complications, but similar rate of adverse reproductive outcomes.


Greenhouse studies were conducted to evaluate the effect of the fungal pathogen, Dactylaria higginsii, on purple
nutsedge interference with 'Capistrano' pepper (Capsicum annuum). Purple nutsedge plants established from tubers were planted at initial densities of 40, 80,160, and 320 plants m-2with pepper in 35-cm diam pots with a commercial potting medium, under nonlimiting fertilization and irrigation conditions. Three to four-leafstage purple nutsedge and four-leafstage pepper plants were inoculated by spraying D. higginsii in 0.5% Metamucil,
a carrier; the treatments were carrier only, 104 conidia ml1 carrier, or 106 conidia conidia ml1 carrier. Purple
nutsedge at all tuber densities significantly reduced pepper yield in the absence of D. higginsii. Percentage yield loss of pepper was greater in treatment with 104 conidia ml1• However, percentage yield loss of pepper was
negligible in treatments with D. higginsii at 106 conidia ml1 when compared to the non-weedy control. The disease progress rate was significantly faster in treatments with 1(1 conidia ml1 (rc = 0.113 - 0.123) compared to 104 conidia mlJ (rc = 0.049 - 0.050). At 106 conidia ml1 , D. higginsii reduced nutsedge interference, provided greater nutsedge control, and increase pepper yield compared to weedy checks.